10 FEB 02: INTRIGUING
NEW RECORDS, RECORDS, RECORDS.

from recent editions of
the Forced Exposure ‘new releases’ bulletin:

SOUL JAZZ RECORDS (UK):

VA: In The Beginning, There
Was Rhythm CD (SJR 57 CD). “This record

features the groups that
grew out of Punk and embraced dance music.

These groups reflected the
changing face of a British multi-cultural

society in the aftermath
of Punk, taking on new musical influences

such as Black American dance
music, Reggae and Electronic music. A

Certain Ratio were one of
the first groups to be signed to Factory

Records in Manchester, the
first band to make the connection between

punk and US Black dance
music. It was A Certain Ratio who went to New

York to record their first
album that managed to mix a sparse

Manchester bleakness in
their sound along with US funk/dance

elements. A Certain Ratio’s
early cover of the US group Banbarra’s

‘Shack Up’ features the
amazing funk drumming of new recruit Donald

Johnson. ‘Knife Slits Water’
is a classic extended disco mix that

managed to bring the punk
7″ into the world of the dance 12″.

Sheffield became a focal
point for DIY-electronic groups at the end

of the 70s. The two most
successful were Cabaret Voltaire and The

Human League. Whilst Cabaret
Voltaire stuck to their roots, signing

to, and staying on, a fledgling
new label, Rough Trade Records, The

Human League would go on
to international stardom as their

experimental late-70s electronic
music turned into 80s synth-pop. At

the beginning, both these
groups were interested in electronic music

and how this music could
be created within a punk ethos.

Consequently, the all-electronic
‘Being Boiled’ was created on a

two-track tape recorder
in mono! The Pop Group were the forerunners

of what came to be known
as The Bristol Sound. Other groups that have

come out of this chain include
Rip, Rig and Panic, Maximum Joy,

Massive Attack and Portishead.
The Pop Group mixed Punk, Funk, Disco

and Reggae influences into
a sound that many future bands would

emulate. Out of Leeds came
The Gang of Four. Again mixing Punk with

dance and a large dose of
Marxist philosophy, The Gang of Four were

initially released on the
Edinburgh based independent label, Fast (as

were The Human League).
This Heat. An early inspiration to many of

the groups here, Camberwell’s
finest ’24 Track Loop’ is an incredible

precurser to electronic,
industrial music which sounds like an early

version of Jungle. The concept
of Industrial music would be taken a

stage further by Throbbing
Gristle who released music on their own

Industrial Music label with
the intent of pushing the boundary

between music and noise.
23 Skidoo’s interests stretched as far as

Kung Eu, Gamelan Music,
Language and Semiotics. Apart from this, they

also managed to combine
their musical influences like no-one else. On

their classic album, Seven
Songs, Dance music, Experimental noise and

Gamelan music combine in
equal measures. ‘Vegas El Bandito’ is taken

from this record. ‘Coup’
is one of the definitive dance records from

this period. Finally, The
Slits were possibly the closest of these

groups to The Sex Pistols.
‘In The Beginning, There Was Rhythm’

(produced by Dennis Bovell)
was indeed a prophesy of the music to

follow Punk, where Punk
would meet Funk, Reggae and Disco.”

Tracklisting: 1. A Certain
Ratio – Shack Up 2. 23Skidoo-Coup 3. Gang

Of Four – To Hell With Poverty
4. The Human League – Being Boiled 5.

The Slits – In The Beginning,
There Was Rhythm 6. This Heat -24 Track

Loop 7. Throbbing Gristle
-20 Jazz Funk Greats 8. A Certain Ratio –

Knife Slits Water 9. Cabaret
Voltaire – Sluggin For Jesus 10. The Pop

Group – She Is Beyond Good
And Evil 11. 23 Skidoo – Vegas El Bandito.

$18.00

 

OCORA (FRANCE):

AISSAWA CONFRATERNITY, THE:
Confriérie des Aïssawa: Morocco CD (OCORA

560140). “First formed in
the 16th Century and among the most

celebrated Sufi ensembles
in Morocco, the Aïssawa Confraternity bring

particular spark to their
rituals through a capella psalmody,

religious poetry, trance
dances accompanied on powerful musical

instruments (such as ghayta
oboes, duff framed drums, etc.).”  $15.00

MI (UK):

HAWKWIND: In Search of Space
CD (EMI 30030). New mid-line EMI reissue

from 2001 of the second
Hawkwind album (originally issued by UA in

1972), with deluxe 24-page
booklet of photos & credits, plus a

complete repro of the original
album booklet: The Hawkwind Log (“a

collage of texts and photos
— supposedly a found log-book of a

spaceship, containing the
cryptic last notes and contemplations of

it’s travellers through
space – another seed of Calvert’s concept of

the soon to come Space Opera
– Space Ritual”). With three bonus

tracks: original single
versions of “Seven By Seven”, “Silver

Machine” & “Born To
Go”. “ISOS established Hawkwind’s style of

hypnotic free-flowing improvisations,
accompanied by tribal rhythms –

in contrast with some acoustic
guitar based pieces, remnants of

Brock’s busking days, often
with a melancholic touch.” Line up of:

Nik Turner (saxophone, flute,
audio generator, vocals); Dave Brock

(vocals, electric &
acoustic guitar, audio generator); Dave Anderson

(bass, electric & accoustic
guitar); Del Dettmar (synthesizer); Terry

Ollis (drums, percussion);
Dik Mik (audio generator); Robert Calvert

(vocals).  $13.00

 

HAWKWIND: Hall Of The Mountain
Grill CD (EMI 30035). Reissue of the

classic 5th Hawkwind album,
following Doremi Fasol Latido & Space

Ritual. Originally released
by UA in 1974. This new mid-line reissue

features 4 bonus tracks
(single versions of “You’d Better Believe

It”, “Psychedelic Warlords”,
& “Paradox”, plus “It’s So Easy”). Lemmy

Kilmister is now on bass,
and contributes “Lost Johnny” (co-penned

with Mick Farren), a track
he would also record numerous times with

Motorhead.  $13.00

FOLLOW ME (FRANCE):

GHETTO BLASTER: People LP
(FM 108). “Whether in New York or Lagos,

ghetto blasters/portable
stereo systems are the heart and lungs which

give rhythm to the streets.
The story of Ghetto Blaster started in

1982 when two French musicians
back from New York decided to go to

Lagos to shoot a film telling
the story of a meeting between African

and European artists. Despite
a journey full of setbacks, which

forced them to sell almost
all their possessions including their car,

they reached Lagos where
they formed a group called Ghetto Blaster.

Some of the musicians of
Ghetto Blaster came from the Fela and Sony

Okossun’s bands. Their music
reflected their ambitions: funk with a

Nigerian twist and furious
afro beat saxophone sound. In 84 they

signed with Island for an
EP. They toured with James Brown, Archie

Shepp, Manu Dibango and
Fela. Aftery years of work they released

their LP People in 1986
which gained the group a wider audience. Due

to tragic events the group
separated, but it is now reforming (a new

album is coming up for 2002.)” 
$14.00

WILD PLACES:

HOLY RIVER FAMILY BAND:
Earthquake Country CD (WILD 010). “Stunning

new CD from this amazing
Swedish band with Spacious Mind and Cauldron

members. Running time is
over 76 minutes. Incorporating psych, deep

folk psych and beyond. A
true gem.” From Tom Rapp’s liner notes: “To

me, music is psychedelic
if it has the unmistakable presence of magic

and it helps you to open
up your heart and your mind. The Holy River

Family Band, in this new
CD, is wonderfully psychedelic, and this CD

is a Psychedelicatessen.
Come on in and help yourself.”  $14.00

SMITHSONIAN FOLKWAYS:

VA: Havana, Cuba, ca. 1957:
Rhythms And Songs For The Orishas CD (SF

40489). “Recorded in Havana
in 1957, the ritual rhythms and songs

collected by Lydia Cabrera
and Josefina Tarafa feature the batá

drums, used by practitioners
of Santería to salute and summon the

gods (orishas). The disc
includes a complete cycle of batá salutes to

the orishas, called the
orú de igbodú, as well as rhythms played

during ceremonies to mark
the presence of an orisha. With origins in

Yoruba religion in West
Africa, this disc serves as a hub of

Afro-Atlantic music, with
ties to related religions in New York,

Miami, the Caribbean, and
Brazil.”  $15.00

VA: Matanzas, Cuba, ca.
1957: Afro-Cuban Sacred Music From The Countr

CD (SF 40490). “Recorded
in Matanzas in 1957, these ritual rhythms

provide a direct link to
the music of 19th-century colonial Cuba, and

provide a window into the
religious life of the first generations of

Africans who worked the
sugar mills. Collected by Lydia Cabrera and

Josefina Tarafa, these recordings
preserve extremely rare bembé

lukumi ritual drumming used
by practitioners of Santería to summon

the gods or salute Cuba’s
African nations. It is remarkably different

from the urban style heard
today in Havana, although some of the same

songs were sung in both
city and countryside. With origins in Yoruba

religion in West Africa,
this music reveals the roots of today’s

Afro-Cuban ceremonial practices.” 
$15.00